All That Matters In Life
by KimiMeagan
Summary: Mikoto Itami has it hard in life, yet covers everything with a smile. She knows nothing of Shinigami or of Hollow. The Winter War is over but events are still being written that follow it; a future that is unknown and unexpected.
1. Chapter 1

"Again, I really do appreciate this, Kisuke-San; I don't know what I'd do with him if you didn't offer to look after him for me." The small shop owner simply waved off her thanks with small short flaps of his fan and grinned behind it. The girl in front of him was the only normal high school student he freely associated himself with, partly because he found her too adorable to simply ignore. Her jet black hair was always pulled up neatly into a high pony tail, her bangs swept over to the right side of her face and were never present in her eyes; yet her sterling silver eyes were what the shop owner always found fascinating since they were similar to his own orbs, only hers were much more vibrant and seemed to shine at times just like the metal would.

She was thin, clearly had an athletic build to some degree from running back and forth doing odd jobs from what he could tell and knew about her, her bust was modest enough; not jaw-dropping like he knew a few women to be. And her smile was one he found himself growing more and more fond of every time he saw it.

"Don't worry about it, Mikoto-Chan; you know that we're always more than willing to look after this little guy." Kisuke Urahara – the owner of the shop they were standing just outside of – explained to the girl once again, knowing they would practically have this conversation every time she dropped off her only pet. Having to keep it out of the house whenever she wasn't there to keep her father from discovering the secret addition to the dwelling, as she had confided to Urahara once before when he had warmed up to her enough to question.

"If you say so, Kisuke-San; but, should he ever be any trouble, I'll find somewhere else to take him." Urahara's fan was waving again to dismiss the statement entirely as he held her black and white colored kitten in one arm as if cradling a baby. He adored her visits just as much as everyone else did and he was sure that Yoruichi enjoyed spending time with another cat whenever she felt like sticking around in her animal form. He didn't need to question her motives anymore than she needed to question his own.

"Better hurry off to school now, Mikoto-Chan; don't want to be late on the first day back, now do you?" Urahara reminded the girl as she shifted the grip on her briefcase to look down the street at a nearby hanging clock. The time made her look back at Urahara with an apologetic grin.

"I suppose I should; I'll stop by after school to pick him up, if that will be OK. Tenkyuu shouldn't be much of a problem until then."

Tenkyuu was her young kitten, solid black with the front of his neck colored white along with all four of his paws and a lone stripe going front the front of his neck down his chest to his stomach. His eyes were the pride and joy of the young feline-loving high school student; being a bright clear ocean blue color, similar to her favorite color actually only being a few shades darker. He was small and scrawny-looking for now, being new to the routine of staying hidden from Mikoto's father because of her only recently having adopted him as her own. His white whiskers twitched with the knowledge of her leaving him in the shop-keepers care once more and his short mew was the only goodbye the feline could manage in his current state.

"He helps us out here just as much as anyone who works here does. It's not like we'll be going anywhere anytime soon, you should stay for dinner tonight; tell us about your first day back at school." Urahara knew about her reluctance to go home immediately after school and would always subtly try to get her to open up about the reason why she was like that, but never succeeded so he decided to simply give her opportunities that would prevent her from going home like she would not like to do.

"I'm not sure about staying for dinner but I will happily make something for all of you. It's the least I can do to thank you." Mikoto answered honestly, moving to give the shop-keeper a short hug before saying her goodbye and hurrying off in the direction of the school. Waving to a few schoolmates along her way, she was ignorant of the golden eyes that watched her leaving their home.

* * *

"Good morning, Mikoto-San,"

"Good morning," Mikoto responded back in turn whenever she entered the classroom, quickly heading in the direction of her seat – the same one she sits in every year since entering high school – before greeting the students that usually sat around her just as she had done every morning the year before. They greeted the same in return.

"Alright class, settle down," the teacher – the newly appointed Mrs. Rem Hanami – said as she walked into the room and stood behind her wooden podium as she held up a sheet of paper that was supposedly going to be used for roll call. "I know you're all very excited to be here, being the first day of school as well as your last year here, but I would like you all to be on your best behavior so that I may get used to being here." New teacher, a majority of the students thought after her opening sentences, go figure. "Now, much like how I myself am new here, as is a fellow student. You can come in now."

Mikoto watched along with the rest of the class as someone walked into the already over-populated room, standing out greatly with his bright sky blue hair and matching electric orbs glaring at those closest to him. Mikoto smiled to herself after thinking that the look reminder her much of how a cat would treat everything new to it in a new environment. "Class, this is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He'll be joining our class this year and I would like you all to treat him with kindness and respect. Why don't you tell us something about yourself, Grimmjow-San?" Mrs. Hanami turned towards the obviously muscular adolescent as he turned his electrifying gaze towards her and glared. Mikoto thought she saw Ichigo Kurosaki's natural scowl deepen at the sight.

"Listen here, lady, I'm not here to make fucking friends and I certainly ain't here to take any pity or crap from anyone; especially you. Why don't you hurry up and shut the fuck up and point out my goddamn seat already." Quite the colorful language, Mikoto thought, her smile having gone when he started snapping at the new teacher; who was too busy gaping at his introduction to point out his seat like he had suggested.

"Grimmjow, knock it off and just sit down somewhere."

"Can it, Kurosaki, I didn't see anybody talking to your punk ass." Grimmjow snapped at Ichigo Kurosaki next, the ginger-haired adolescent frowning at the statement yet saying nothing because of the blue-eyes male strolling casually across the classroom and taking his seat directly behind Keigo Asano; the latter of the two looking worried about that fact. Mikoto – one row to the right and two seats behind Keigo – watched the look being tossed between the two and decided that the duo must've known each other previously because of the stare. It was like communicating with their eyes.

Mrs. Hanami seemed still in shock over having a student talk to her like that before she blinked back into reality and looked down at her roll sheet to check over what students were here and what students were missing. She seemed almost hesitant to speak with the new student in the room. Mikoto felt a small amount of pity going out to the teacher for not knowing what to do in such a situation, and it was happening on the first day of her career at that. Sighing softly to herself, Mikoto rested her elbows against the desk and leaned her head against her knuckles; she knew that the rest of the year would be eventful with the two of them in one class. With Ichigo and a lot of his friends being in the same class, at that; Mikoto thought, glancing over the rest of Ichigo Kurosaki's circle of acquaintances that were ironically all seated around him and on one side of the classroom.

Very eventful, indeed…

* * *

"Finally; I never thought this class would be fucking over! You bunch of dumb shits are putting me to sleep with the amount of ignorance you have leaking out your fucking asses. I think I can find piles of crap with more intelligence that you stupid –"

"Grimmjow, will you just shut the hell up already?" Mikoto watched blankly as Grimmjow and Ichigo continued to cuss and argue at each other without problems or distractions because of Mrs. Hanami staring at them wide-eyed as well before coming to her own new unique senses and choosing to ignore the scene by gathering what she would need for her own break and leaving the room just as some of the other students were. Mikoto deemed her ready enough to handle the rest of the year if she stuck to simply ignoring certain things in the classroom, as well as certain people.

Turning her attention back over to the fighting sore-thumbs of appearances, Mikoto found the argument ending by the two of them – who had tight death grips on each others' collars – being forcefully broken up by two friends of Ichigo's that she remembered from about a year ago. They didn't stay very long but it appeared as if they were hoping to stay longer this time around since they returned to Karakura.

Ikkaku Madarame – the taller of the two that was always seen with a wooden sword in his possession and had no hair what-so-ever on his head – was behind Grimmjow, pulling him and his hold on Ichigo away. Yumichika Ayasegawa – the obviously close friend of Ikkaku's with decorative and colorful feathers attached to his right eye – was off to the side of the pair and was pushing against Grimmjow's chest in order to get him away from Ichigo. It wasn't something that surprised anyone nearby who had been in the same class as the rest of the group and had seen the fights between Ichigo and Renji and even Ichigo and Ikkaku… and also Ikkaku and Renji at times when it appeared that Ichigo didn't feel like arguing at that exact moment.

They all seemed to enjoy getting into fights with one another, regardless of the fact that they were all obviously close to each other.

Grimmjow finally moved away from Ichigo after being forcefully pushed away from him, not caring about the argument anymore and deciding it wasn't worth his time. With a low growl that made many of the students in the classroom look over with wide eyes if they had already adverted their gazes, Grimmjow walked towards the door and slammed it behind himself as he proceeded to the roof in order to get some air and calm down to some extent. As much as he would love to beat in Ichigo's face and tear him limb-from-limb, he knew that it would be a bad idea to do so right now when he was already on thin ice as it was.

Mikoto watched him leave with her blank gaze in place, being used to just about anything that happened around her in this town. She had seen much worse in her life than she was sure most of the students would ever see in a lifetime. And she had caught the look in Grimmjow's eyes right before he slammed the wooden door behind him on his way out. Looking down at the lunch she had neatly spread out on her desk, Mikoto had taken note of Grimmjow leaving empty-handed; not taking anything that seemed even remotely close to resembling a lunch. Sighing shortly to herself, Mikoto wrapped up the lunch once more after having divided it evenly; carrying it with her across the near silent classroom and leaving, not bothering to question the looks that were sent her direction at having the courage to walk out of the door that Grimmjow had just left from.

It wasn't as if she would jump out the window that she knew Ichigo's group was prone to do from time to time.

Mikoto wandered around the building for a few minutes before checking the last place she had thought of him being in, when she realized that I should've been the first place to look in since it was one of the only places at the school that people were not supposed to be in but was a very common hangout spot for most that just didn't care at times. Mikoto thought Grimmjow fit that description fairly well.

Opening the door at the top of the narrow staircase that led to the roof, Mikoto was thankful she caught sight of the lightning colored hair that could belong to only one person at the school: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He had his back to her and had one hand rested against the chain-link fence while the other was nestled comfortably – it seemed – in his pocket; obviously enjoying the view from the roof as Mikoto took notice of the sudden heavy rise and fall of his broad shoulders, tell-tale signs of a sigh.

"Quite the ruckus you caused downstairs." Mikoto stated shortly, taking notice of how he suddenly tensed up and looked over his shoulder at her with a glare poised ready to kill. "Although it's not hard to get Kurosaki-San riled up, I'm surprised it only took you a few words to do so. Usually he doesn't care for new students."

"What the hell do you want? Didn't I say earlier that I didn't care much for making friends and didn't need anyone's goddamn pity?" Grimmjow snapped at the raven-haired girl as she took a few steps closer before putting a neatly folded portion of her lunch against the small portion of the fence near him, ignoring the vicious glare directed towards her and the low nearly inaudible growl she thought she heard.

"You did. I noticed you didn't bring a lunch with you and decided to bring you some. I think you'll need it should you go back to arguing with Kurosaki-San when class starts again; he has quite the stamina when it comes to arguing with others." Mikoto said to him before starting to walk back towards the stairway door, pausing in front of it with her hand still on the handle. She felt like he needing to hear something. "Loneliness isn't the best way to live life; sometimes you need to lean on someone. I'm not saying that I want you to lean on me or that you even need someone with you right now. I'm just letting you know that even if everyone else turns their back on you when you actually need someone, I'll be here should you ever need anything." Mikoto smiled shortly to herself and opened the door, closing it behind her quietly since she knew that silence around Grimmjow must mean that he was either thinking or trying to ignore her. She simply hoped that her message got through to him.

With that mission accomplished, she returned to the classroom and ate her lunch in silence at her desk; not putting anymore thought into the new student or Ichigo Kurosaki's circle of friends. Mikoto would rather just let life play out on its own without her hoping for something extraordinary to happen.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by without incident; or too much incident outside of the now normal occurrences that everyone at the school was familiar with. The bell rang signaling the end of the end and Mikoto gathered her things along with the rest of the school and left. Walking out of the school grounds, she caught sight of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez standing beside Ichigo Kurosaki as Toshiro Hitsugaya – the 'child genius' as some nicknamed the short snow-haired teen – was talking to the both of them with a frustrated glower on his face. She caught the electric gaze of the newest student and waved shortly as a parting goodbye sign and watched him return the gesture just as shortly before disappearing behind the stone walls that bordered the school as she made her way towards her favorite candy store.

She had promised Kisuke Urahara dinner and would give him just that. She adored the shop keeper and his employees; always having a suspicion that the pale blond, gray-eyed male was up to something by the way she noted his flashing gaze and the certain twitch of his lips whenever he would ignore her questions or even someone else's. He was much taller than her, a good head taller whenever she thought about it since she only reached his shoulder on occasions; built in a lean sort of way that she took particular notice of whenever they had first met, considering – she thought with an exasperated smile coming to her face at the memory – his shirt was open to the point of revealing enough information to let her know that he wasn't exactly as lazy as he appeared.

Arriving at the candy store, Mikoto greeted the two youngest employees that worked at the shop: Jinta and Ururu. Jinta Hanakira was a small kid with fiery red hair and was the one always caught bullying on her favorite employee: Ururu. Although he denies this whenever she points out the fact simply because of not wishing her to think badly of him anymore than the shop keeper would. Ururu Tsumugiya was the shy polar-opposite of young Jinta, having a violet shade to her own raven-colored hair; the plum-eyed girl usually had her hair up in pigtails whenever Jinta wasn't pulling on them. She thought of Mikoto as an older sister, regardless of how much limited contact they had around each other.

Tessai Tsukabishi – the shop keeper's best friend and eldest employee – was putting away large crates and boxes whenever Mikoto wandered into the store, giving a short bow and greeting before complimenting the shop's appearance as she did every time she entered. Which caused the tall muscular man to cry dramatically behind his glasses and attempt to wipe away his tears with the only free tan hand he had. His thick mustache moved whenever he spoke and thanked the smaller girl as she continued on her way through the store to get into the kitchen and begin making the Urahara Shop's dinner; which was going to be a large spread of different fish, ramen, and rice bowls.

The food didn't take long to make and before anyone knew it, Yoruichi Shihōin and Mikoto Itami had finished setting the table and spreading out the food; the golden-eyed dark-skinned woman patting Mikoto's head and complimenting her cooking skills as the girl smiled and declined the pleasantries modestly. Tenkyuu was perched on the purple-haired older woman's shoulder before Mikoto clapped her hands once and caught the kitten as he jumped towards her at the recognized command, curling against her in her arms comfortably while mewing his own greeting to her once more that day.

"You can stay for dinner, you know," Yoruichi said to the girl, watching her swing a piece of string from one of the packages in the kitchen before throwing it away. Urahara stood in the doorway behind Yoruichi listening to the transaction, deciding to not say anything this time and see if Yoruichi had any luck charming the girl into staying when they all knew that she did not wish to leave and return to her own dwelling. Shaking her head politely, Mikoto declined.

"I wish I could, Yoruichi-San, but I really should be getting home now. I have dinner to cook at home and I do have some homework that needs to be finished." Mikoto lied easily, not telling a completely untruth because of having two problems to finish on her work and had her father at home possibly waiting for her to get there and make the food. "I hope all of you enjoy the food. I know that the ramen is one of Kisuke's favorites so I hope he likes it." Urahara smiled to himself at the thought of her worrying over whether or not she made the ramen the way he liked it; he loved her cooking and if she made his favorite food then he was sure it would be better than normal. "Will you tell him goodbye for me? I know he doesn't like being bothered when he's in his office."

"Of course I will; have a safe trip home," Yoruichi smiled down at Mikoto and watched as she bid farewell to the employees before going home, not having the heart to order her to stay and tell them all what was wrong with her home-life. Both her and Urahara knew what was wrong with her home-life yet knew that they couldn't do anything about it until she came to them and confided into them the story; they weren't able to do anything until then. Urahara stepped out of the doorway and watched through a nearby window as Mikoto stopped part of the way away from the shop in order to let Tenkyuu hop into her purse, continuing alone the route to her home once she was sure that the kitten was hidden from view.

"I worry about her, Kisuke."

"There's nothing we can do for her though… not until she tells us herself." Urahara answered in turn to Yoruichi's concern, looking back at her shortly before forcing a smile onto his face and saying, "Well, we might as well gather everyone else and eat." He said just as Jinta shouted something about a 'moocher' in the other room that made Urahara's fake small grin melt into a real mischievous one at the thought of his housemate questioning who made the food and not knowing who it was. Even though Ururu and Jinta might dance around her name simply to tease the poor boy.

* * *

_**[A/N: Review Are Appreciated. ^^ No Reviews. No Story. That's Going To Be The Way I Handle All My Stories. Fair Warning.]**_


	2. Chapter 2

Previously:

"I worry about her, Kisuke."

"There's nothing we can do for her though… not until she tells us herself." Urahara answered in turn to Yoruichi's concern, looking back at her shortly before forcing a smile onto his face and saying, "Well, we might as well gather everyone else and eat." He said just as Jinta shouted something about a 'moocher' in the other room that made Urahara's fake small grin melt into a real mischievous one at the thought of his housemate questioning who made the food and not knowing who it was. Even though Ururu and Jinta might dance around her name simply to tease the poor boy.

* * *

"Alright now, class; settle down," Mrs. Hanami called once she entered the room, having gotten used to the events that happened in her class and had decided to just let certain things fly after two weeks on the job by now. Mikoto looked up from her desk and glanced over at Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's desk briefly before the lightning-eyed male swaggered through the door and strolled right up to his seat, completely ignoring the teacher and only glancing in Mikoto's own direction to offer a short nod of greeting just like he did every morning he walked in.

Two weeks had gone by since their first encounter and neither one spoke to the other; although, Mikoto had stuck to the routine of giving him half of her lunch every day because of noticing on day two that he simply didn't bring one. Every morning and afternoon before leaving the school grounds, she would wave at him from across the courtyard and he would wave back; same thing whenever it was time for lunch: she would give him half her lunch and whenever he returned to the classroom, he would nod his head in greeting and thanks and she'd nod back as a 'you're welcome' gesture that only the two of them understood. For two weeks it had been like that and not once had Grimmjow snapped at Mikoto, claiming all her attention to him was simply out of pity. They both knew that it was not the case.

"Today we'll be doing something a little different. I've paired up everyone with one partner to work on this assignment together so that everyone will have a partner and no one can complain too much. The pairings are…" Mrs. Hanami listed off the names and waited for everyone to get together with their partners before passing out the papers for the classroom assignment. Mikoto Itami and Orihime Inoue were partners, smiling politely while sitting across from each other after moving two desks to be opposite of one another. Orihime was a busty ginger haired teen; sweet as she was, even Mikoto had heard of her odd taste in food. Orihime's gray orbs were lit up with kindness and just as she opened her mouth to say something to Mikoto, loud shouting of a tell-tale argument were heard instead.

Both girls looked in the direction of the familiar voices to find Grimmjow and Ichigo standing in front of each other while yelling insults back and forth as if they were in a cliché movie, both resenting the fact that they had to work with the other even though Grimmjow was not only yelling at Ichigo but Mrs. Hanami as well since she had put them together; even if she only did so because of Ichigo seeming to be the only one that could handle the hot-tempered adolescent. Mikoto watched the exchanges along with the rest of the class and felt her small polite smile fall into an apologetic one as she turned towards Orihime and asked, "Would you mind switching partners and working with Kurosaki-San instead?"

At Orihime's hesitant nod, mostly uncertain because of not knowing how Grimmjow would react to the switching, Mikoto stood from her seat and walked around the boys to question the teacher in a whisper if she would mind the partner exchange. She explained that it would quiet the two and everyone would be able to get their work done afterwards. Mrs. Hanami agreed without a second thought. Mikoto nodded over to Orihime who proceeded to drag Ichigo back over to where she was seated as Mikoto rested her things next to his previous desk and slid into the seat, beginning to read the instructions silently to herself as Grimmjow continued standing next to his seat with confusion evident on his face.

Mikoto looked up and caught his gaze with her own and just smiled at him in reply to his questioning look, making him slowly sit down across from her before a smirk came to his face and he asked, "So.. What the hell do we have to do today?" Mikoto began to quietly explain what they were supposed to be doing, all the while feeling dark looks being passed in her direction. Looking over her shoulder to see where the looks were coming from, Mikoto felt a insecure expression coming to her face at the sight of a majority of the girls in the classroom glaring at her threateningly; the looks only seeming to increase their intensity when Grimmjow questioned if she was alright at her sudden stillness and strange silence.

"Hey!" Grimmjow shouted once he noticed just what it was that was making his partner uncomfortable. "What the fuck do you hussies think you're looking at? You got a problem with her than take it up with me! If not, then mind your own fucking business!" Mikoto looked back at him with slight surprise, never having had someone stick up for her before at school. The girls that were looking at her previously all turned their gazes quickly at Grimmjow's shout, finding other things to look at before the rest of the class discovered it was them glaring at Mikoto and being the objects of his current wrath. "Tch… bitches…" Grimmjow muttered to himself before turning his glower away from the human females and back to the only one he tolerated any. "So how the hell do you do this crap?" Mikoto watched him curiously for a brief moment longer before smiling to herself at the reason why he changed subjects so she wouldn't be able to thank him properly or ask him why he helped her.

Fine by her, she had thought to herself, turning her paper towards him and doodling mindless things on the paper to help him understand the problems on the assignment. Together, she helped him work through the questions and was pleasantly surprised when he did his part by himself with no help required once he understood how to do it; finishing rather quickly and without one difficulty. Mikoto complimented his progress with a short smile and said nothing more on it while she finished off her own fraction of the work, taking his sheet as well as her own and turning it in to Mrs. Hanami at the end of the class when the bell rang to signal it.

School was over for the moment as lunch was here and Orihime quickly went over to the silver-eyed teenager while she began packing her things and taking out her divided lunch. "Itami-San," Orihime called over to her, smiling at her whenever she looked over her shoulder to see who had called her name. "I hope you don't think I'm prying but I was wondering what happened with Grimmjow earlier. I've never seen him so protective of someone and it doesn't seem like something he would do." Mikoto smiled at the analysis and knew herself that it didn't, but she knew better than to expect people to follow certain guidelines because of how they act or appear.

"Don't read too much into things, Inoue-San; we're just friends and he was helping me out. It's no big deal; we look out for each other." Mikoto said to the busty ginger as she continued to stand by with confusion evident in her gaze.

"But… even Grimmjow having friends is new." Orihime muttered to herself, not minding that the raven-haired girl had heard her as she changed the subject with a smile and asked if she would like to join them for lunch. Mikoto blinked at her sudden request, having been asked by some of her friends once before but noticed that she was implying the rest of Ichigo's strange circle of friends; Grimmjow being included by the way he had left with some of them earlier. Mikoto debated on whether or not she should accept Orihime's proposition by the way her life was already working out just fine the way it was. What was point in living if you didn't take a few risks every now and then, though?

* * *

Orihime led Mikoto up the narrow staircase to the roof, opening the door for her and walking out to greet her friends; allowing Mikoto to close the door and look around the seemingly crowded roof from where she was beside the door, noticing that a good half of the class now seemed to be coming up here with Ichigo Kurosaki. Deciding it was best to stick relatively close to Orihime, since she was the one that had asked her to join them for lunch, Mikoto walked around the talkative and rowdy group in order to sit in the empty space next to Orihime while she was talking to Tatsuki Arisawa, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Rukia Kuchiki; the 'child genius' – Toshiro Hitsugaya – was not too far from her in the only area left around Orihime and seemed to only be there to keep Rangiku under some relative control.

Mikoto greeted those that turned and did the same to her as she lifted half her lunch out of her bento box and spread it out neatly in front of her, not looking at the person she felt sit beside her as she added the other half of the lunch to her spread; knowing there was no point in dividing it now since she knew a certain someone wouldn't hesitate to take what he wanted when he knew that she didn't mind in the least. Grimmjow reached over and picked up a rice-ball to eat, not bothering to ask because of knowing what her answer would've been. Mikoto mirrored his movements unknowingly.

"Hey Ichigo, look at Grimmjow. I think he fits in perfectly; he plays the common human boyfriend flawlessly!" Renji Abarai – with his fiery long red locks always pulled back into a high ponytail much akin to Mikoto's own, with slight differences, and eccentric tattoos – said from where he was on the other side of Rangiku and from his place between Ichigo Kurosaki and Ikkaku Madarame. Mikoto looked over at them all in question as Grimmjow yelled for them to shut up before starting an all out war between the three of them that Ikkaku was more than happy to participate in as well. Everyone watched them go on for a while longer before continuing on with their lunches since this occurred frequently even outside the classroom.

"What makes all of you think that we're dating? I haven't known him any longer than anyone else at school has," Mikoto questioned, looking towards Rangiku for an answer that she hoped the bustier strawberry blond woman would give. Rangiku merely turned towards the girl and grinned before latching onto her and gushing over how adorable she was.

"You're positively gorgeous! Orihime, where did you find this little cutie? She's precious enough that I'm tempted to take her home with me right now." Mikoto just sat there with confusion clear on her face as the busty woman fawned over her and twirled locks of her hair between her fingers, continuously asking the girl just how she kept her complexion the way she did or how her hair was so silky or other minor material things that Mikoto simply did not know how to answer outside of the obvious, which she thought would've been rude if she did voice any of the responses.

Rangiku Matsumoto was a very busty woman, there was no doubt in anyone's mind about that, so when she finally began to clutch Mikoto a little too tightly to her overbearing chest the girl did the only thing she could do in a situation that deprived her of air. She tried to get the cause away from her. Mikoto pushed against Rangiku's shoulders and arms while trying to get more air into her deprived lungs without making it seem too obvious that she was trying to do so. She didn't like making scenes and she didn't want to embarrass the other woman in case she had little self-esteem and got upset easily; she just wanted to be able to breathe again.

Grimmjow froze mid-sentence in his arguing with Ikkaku, Renji, and Ichigo before snapping his head in the direction Mikoto was in and barking at Rangiku that she was killing her. Mikoto was thankful for the instant fresh air that she received once Rangiku let go of her and Tatsuki and Orihime steadied her at the sudden lightheadedness that overcame her. Mikoto now understood why the others in the group tended to avoid the strawberry blond. Grimmjow questioned if was alright before arguing once more with the main two of his previous quarrel when they decided to make another comment on how he was such a 'common human boyfriend'. Ikkaku chose not to participate in this round, calling it useless and childish; not even being anything close to a fight anymore.

Mizuro questions Mikoto about her hobbies and after listing off a few, discovered that her and a few others in the group had quite a few things in common. She enjoyed working out, which earned her brownie points with the tomboy: Tatsuki Arisawa, her brown eyes lighting up at the statement after it was said as she ran her hand through her short choppy black hair afterwards to mess it up a little more. She loved snowy weather and enjoyed winter most of all the seasons, which Toshiro Hitsugaya found appealing since not many favored the cooler seasons to the beach-worthy times. But what got most of them was the simple fact that she admitted to having taken a few fighting classes when she was younger and enjoyed watching the tournaments that went on nearby involving fighting of any sort; that was what had drawn in the best friend pair: Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa.

Ikkaku was so wrapped up in questioning her about what kind of fighting she had learned and how far she reached mastering it that he failed to notice the all-knowing look that Yumichika had sent in his direction that Mikoto caught and looked at in question because of. She talked with each other them and found out a few meaningless tidbits of information on each of them that made the thought of them all becoming friends more and more likely with each passing second. Orihime – who was previous helping Rukia Kuchiki separate Ichigo and Renji from their shouting contest with Grimmjow – walked over and random asked, it seemed, if Mikoto liked any particular type of animals.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Felines are a particular favorite of mine, I like bigger cats most of all but I have a small kitten at home name Tenkyuu." Mikoto answered in return, smiling shortly before the topic seemed to make everyone join in.

**Ikkaku**: "Why cats? What's wrong with dogs? Aren't they supposed to be easier to train?"

**Mikoto**: "Well… that's what makes it challenging. Would you give up on something simply because it's difficult?"

**Orihime**: "What does your kitty look like?"

**Mikoto**: "He's mostly black but he has these patches of white on him and the prettiest blue eyes."

**Yumichika**: "So he's like a panther?"

**Tatsuki**: "I wouldn't say that. I mean she said he has white on him and panthers don't have anything on their fur but black, don't they?"

**Mikoto**: "Generally, yes; but there are times when a clouded leopard or spotted leopard greatly resemble them. Some people believe they are the same species simply because of being big cats."

**Mizuro**: "What do they look like though?"

**Mikoto**: "They look exactly like panthers except for having gray or sometimes white spots on them like regular leopards would."

**Orihime**: "You mean like that cat?"

Everyone looked in the direction Orihime pointed in to find a Dalmatian trotting down the sidewalk with its owner trailing behind it hold the leash tightly in fear of the dog getting away from him. Mikoto blinked at the accusation of the canine actually being a feline and decided to go ahead and mention it to make sure that she didn't misinterpret Orihime's words or hear them incorrectly.

**Mikoto**: "Inoue-San… you do know that a Dalmatian is a canine, not a feline… right?"

**Orihime**: "That's what Ichigo told me but I told him that Dalmatians are cats."

**Mikoto**: "Um… No they aren't, I'm sorry to tell you. Dalmatians bark and can't purr… that means they aren't cats but dogs."

**Ichigo**: "You can try all you want to convince her otherwise but it's not going to work; she's convinced that they're cats."

**Mikoto**: "But… they're dogs."

**Grimmjow**: "Seriously. How the fuck can you confuse a cat with a mutt? It's not all that hard to fucking tell."

The bell's shrill ringing cut off any future responses and alerted everyone that it was time to leave for class once more. Mikoto busied herself with cleaning up what remained of her lunch and trashed what she could not reuse before standing to her feet and taking a step towards the stairwell to go back to class before a hand catching her elbow stopped her advance. "Let us walk you back to class." It was Toshiro Hitsugaya who had stopped her departure with Rangiku Matsumoto standing right behind him with a smile on her own face. Mikoto nodded after silently debating with herself over allowing them to do so; she got along with them well enough to not mind the company.

Toshiro fell into step beside her as Rangiku threw her arms around Mikoto's shoulders once more in an attempt to seemingly choke the life from her; Mikoto was thankful she was still able to breath – though with difficulty – as the three walked down the staircase and made their way back to class. Mikoto glanced over her shoulder once, the one that Rangiku wasn't leaning on anyway, to see what the others were doing and found a majority of them facing Grimmjow and appeared to be talking to him. Or picking at him again, Mikoto thought as the roof entrance door swung quietly shut behind her.

* * *

A month seemed to fly by after that one day Mikoto spent with the rest of the group at lunch. Ikkaku and Yumichika were good friends to her, just as Mizuro, Toshiro, and Tatsuki were – although it was clear that Grimmjow seemed to be her favorite among the group. The final bell rang before a sea of students flooded from the exits, almost any available exit, in order to leave the building and all of its 'torturous ways' – as Grimmjow had described the learning system once – behind them. Mikoto lifted her hand and gave a short wave goodbye to the group as she passed, most calling out their own goodbyes before she was gone from their sight.

Walking in the direction of the Urahara Shop, Mikoto was only thinking about retrieving Tenkyuu before heading home to begin fixing dinner when she heard a sound from behind her. It wasn't quiet by any means, and it wasn't normal. In response to the sound, Mikoto froze; straining her ears to listen for any other sound that would tell her that she had only just heard things and it was all her imagination. Seconds seemed to tick by like hours as the wind pushed against her, almost as if it was urging her to run. Mikoto begins to calm her nerves by assuring herself that it was nothing more than a random noise that people hear yet when she hears a whisper of a voice, almost as if there was someone talking behind her, she breaks out into a run; not trusting herself to look over her shoulder to see just who was there and question how they did so silently.

The Urahara Shop seemed to be further away than it usually was as Mikoto's loafers pounded against the concrete sidewalk, intent on getting to the store before whatever was behind her decided to pursue. Kisuke Urahara – her small salvation – was standing outside the shop when it came into view, turning his head in her direction to give her a look of obvious worry. Urahara catches Mikoto in his arms as she nearly runs into him while slowing down, the concern in his gaze is caught by Mikoto but she orders herself not to force more worry onto him by explaining what had happened; deciding not to say anything. "Mikoto-Chan, are you alright? What are you running from?"

Mikoto pushes lightly against his chest in order to form some distance between the two of them as she catches her breath, making a smile come to her face that she hoped seemed normal enough. "Nothing at all Kisuke-San; I simply felt like running today. Have to exercise sometime, ne?" She knew that Urahara would fret over her if she told him what happened so she decided not to. It was better this way, she thought to herself to ease her sense of guilt. Urahara held her at arm's length away from him gently, his hands rested on her shoulders as he locked silver gazes with her to try and determine himself whether or not she was alright – not if she was lying to him or not, that was something he didn't entirely require.

"Very well, then," he said after a moment of the brief stare, a soft smile coming to his face as he finally released her. "Would you like to stay for dinner? I'm sure we could use help with the shop for a bit, as well since it is Tessai's turn to cook tonight." Mikoto silently let out the breath she didn't know she was holding before smiling and agreeing to stay, if only for a while she told herself. Just until her nervousness settled and she was sure that whoever – or whatever – it was that she had unknowingly encountered just moments ago had left the area. Linking his arm with her playfully, and grinning whenever she lightly laughed at his antics, Urahara lightly pulled her into his 'candy' store; not minding it a bit that she would be helping him with everything that he sold his 'other customers' off the record.

Mikoto walked along beside him, looking over her shoulder at the outside one more time before giving Urahara her undivided attention; noticing a fiery head of red hair behind her favorite blond that she took immediately recognition of. "Renji?" Mikoto let her questioning voice resound in the space between them before stepping beside Urahara in order to get a better view of the friendly red-head. Renji looked questioning between Urahara and Mikoto before her name slipped from his lips in the form of a question as well. "What are you doing here?" Mikoto asked instead of confirming that it was obviously her; she didn't have to.

"I see that the two of you have met," Urahara's mischievous grin slipped onto his face that Mikoto took notice of automatically, watching as his fan slipped into his hand easily to cover the expression while his hooded gaze caught her own. She sent a long sideways look at the smile but chose not to question it. She never did. It was one of the things Urahara loved about her. "Abarai here has decided to stay with us for the time being." Urahara continued with his grin still in place, wondering over how she would react to the information. She merely tilted her head slightly as she always did subconsciously and looked at Renji with a curious lift of her brow. She didn't question where his parents were, didn't ask why he was living here, why she had never seen him before today, or even why he had decided to move into the Urahara Shop. No. She just eased her curiosity by asking if he wanted anything specific to eat for dinner that night.

Renji looked mildly confused at the question before answering that anything was fine. He had no idea that she even knew who Urahara was, let alone was allowed free access into the shop and everything within it, at least he thought she did by the way Urahara hovered over her at her side. Mikoto smiled at him before asking if he wanted to help, which he quickly nodded and followed after her in order to avoid doing the supposed 'chores' he had around the shop, as Urahara, Tessai, and Jinta – especially – were quick to constantly remind him of. Mikoto had obviously done this before, Renji noticed, as he watched her move about the kitchen as if she had all her life; knowing where everything she needed was yet still getting him to reach for the higher things that were always just out of her reach as he watched her work her magic – he meant watching her cook.

Dinner was served and, after handling the very few customers that wandered into the store simply to purchase the candy that was scattered across the shelves in neat sorted piles, Urahara said was courtesy of Mikoto having rubbed off on Ururu years prior, they had all eaten their fill almost two times over. By the time everyone had finished eating, Renji was sure she had complete access to anything in the store, even the employees. Mikoto was continuously glancing out of the window or out of the door to the outside sky or even taking multiple glances at the small wall clock that was nearby, getting fidgety as the sky got darker overhead. Yoruichi did her best to keep the girl's mind away from whatever unsettled her and was doing a fairly good job of it until Mikoto turned her eyes towards the clock once more and let her gaze widen considerably in what Renji thought appeared to be shock.

Mikoto stood to her feet, table cleaned off and nearly shining after Mikoto had come through with Tessai in tow and cleared away all of the dirty dishes and leftovers, and said, "Thank you for all that you have done for me, Kisuke-San, but I think that it is time for me to get home; it's getting late." It was a terrible excuse for leaving the sanctuary of the candy shop but Mikoto was not about to put off returning to her own dwelling any longer. Regardless of whether or not the stranger she had run into would be outside the shop, Mikoto retrieved her bag and walked with Urahara and Renji to the front of the shop where they would part ways.

"I can walk you home if you'd like; don't need you getting into any trouble out here." Renji offered her, taking a step closer in order to prove his point but instead rose and eyebrow when Mikoto smiled and took one step back in turn. "No, no, no; that's quite alright, Renji-San, I've walked home after dark many times before and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Mikoto knew that he had a fierce sense of protectiveness to his friends, just like Ichigo, but she would not allow him to walk her home. She would deny him such just as she had done to Urahara years ago. "Are you sure? It's no –" Renji was cut off by Mikoto claiming that she was sure and that she would be fine, yet again. It was almost strange how she was acting; Renji merely marked it off as her parents maybe being upset with how late she was out.

With a nod, he took a step back to show that he would respect her decision and abide by it. Mikoto thanks for offer regardless. Urahara opened up his arms silently for a hug and Mikoto stepped into them while wrapping her arms around his middle in the short embrace, she thought about what she would have done if she had never met Kisuke Urahara: the gray-eyed eccentric candy shop proprietor. "Would you mind looking after Tenkyuu tonight, Kisuke-San? I'm not sure if I'll be able to sneak him around tonight." It was the truth, for the most part concerning the kitten, and Mikoto let a real smile come to her face when Urahara nodded his head in confirmation and told her that he's let Tenkyuu sleep with Ururu again, as was his natural sleeping arrangement for whenever Mikoto asked him to look after the fur ball.

"Thank you again, both of you, but I should go. See you at school, Abarai-San." Mikoto waved and went on her way, her bag being tightly clutched in her hand as she turned a corner and disappeared from their view. She dreaded the encounter that awaited her when she got home and only now, as she was standing in front of her home's front door nearly ten minutes of power walking later, she was beginning to let her fear show through; her body was starting to shake of its own accord as her pale fingers wrapped around the door's handle in order to allow her entrance into the building.

* * *

_****__**[A/N: Review Are Appreciated. ^^ No Reviews. No Story. That's Going To Be The Way I Handle All My Stories. Fair Warning. There Is A Poll Available On My Profile For Those That Wish To Aid In The Plot Of The Story. More Will Come. Enjoy.]**_


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